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Topic Review
Autism
Kanner autism, or classic autism, is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by challenges with social communication, and by restricted and repetitive behaviors. It is now considered part of the wider autism spectrum. The term 'autism' was historically used to refer specifically to Kanner autism, which is the convention used in this entry, but it is now more commonly used for the spectrum at large. Parents often notice signs of autism during the first three years of their child's life. These signs often develop gradually, though some autistic children experience regression in their communication and social skills after reaching developmental milestones at a normal pace. Autism has been hypothesized to be associated with a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Risk factors during pregnancy include certain infections, such as rubella, toxins including valproic acid, alcohol, cocaine, pesticides, lead, and air pollution, fetal growth restriction, and autoimmune diseases. Controversies surround other proposed environmental causes; for example, the vaccine hypothesis, which although disproven, continues to hold sway in certain communities. Autism affects information processing in the brain and how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) combines forms of the condition, including high functioning autism (HFA), which was formerly known as Asperger syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) into the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Several interventions have been shown to reduce symptoms and improve the ability of autistic people to function and participate independently in the community. Behavioral, psychological, education, and/or skill-building interventions may be used to assist autistic people to learn life skills necessary for living independently, as well as other social, communication, and language skills. Therapy also aims to reduce challenging behaviors and build upon strengths. Some autistic adults are unable to live independently. An autistic culture has developed, with some individuals seeking a cure and others believing autism should be accepted as a difference to be accommodated instead of cured. Globally, autism is estimated to affect 24.8 million people (As of 2015). In the 2000s, the number of autistic people worldwide was estimated at 1–2 per 1,000 people. In the developed countries, about 1.5% of children are diagnosed with ASD (As of 2017), up from 0.7% in 2000 in the United States. It is diagnosed four to five times more often in males than females. The number of people diagnosed has increased considerably since the 1990s, which may be partly due to increased recognition of the condition.
  • 1.5K
  • 28 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Autism and LGBT Identities
Although it is not known exactly what causes one to be on the autism spectrum or what causes one's sexual orientation or gender identity, a few limited studies into autistic people have shown higher rates of LGBT identities and feelings among autistic people than the general population.
  • 1.5K
  • 01 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Autism and Working Memory
Autism is a variation of neural development diagnosed as impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. In this article, the word autism is used for referring to the whole range of variations on the autism spectrum, which is not uncommon. Working memory is the system that actively holds multiple pieces of transitory information in the mind, where they can be manipulated. This system has a limited capacity. Working memory is a part of the executive functions (EF), an umbrella term for cognitive processes that regulate, control, and manage other cognitive processes, for instance planning and attention.
  • 913
  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Autism Children's Eating Behaviors
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the most recognized neuropsychiatric disorder of childhood. Comorbid conditions (such as feeding disorders) are more common among people with autism than among the general population. The most frequent somatic disorders in autistic children include the gastrointestinal disorders observed in 46–91% of patients. The purpose of this study was the evaluation of the nutrition of children with autism, with particular emphasis placed on feeding in the first year of life, in comparison to the group of healthy peers. Participants included 75 Caucasian children (41 children diagnosed with pure autism, and the control group consisting of 34 children without autistic traits). The analysis was performed based on a questionnaire of own design with the first part devoted to the eating practices of the early infancy. Results: Autistic children, as compared to the healthy peers, presented a shortened time of breastfeeding (the children fell asleep at the breast) (p = 0.04), a delayed introduction of dairy products (p = 0.001), the need of more trials to introduce new foods (p = 0.006), a delayed introduction of foods with solid and lumpy structure (p = 0.004), a longer duration of bottle feeding (p = 0.005), delayed attempts to eating using own hands (p = 0.006) and needed a greater support of parents to divert their attention from food during eating (p = 0.05).
  • 553
  • 23 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Autism Diagnostic Interview
The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) is a structured interview conducted with the parents of individuals who have been referred for the evaluation of possible autism or autism spectrum disorders. The interview, used by researchers and clinicians for decades, can be used for diagnostic purposes for anyone with a mental age of at least 24 months and measures behavior in the areas of reciprocal social interaction, communication and language, and patterns of behavior.
  • 433
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder etiopathogenesis is still unclear, no effective preventive and treatment measures have been identified.  Research has focused on the potential role of neuroinflammation and kynurenine pathway. Pre-natal or neonatal infections would induce microglial activation, with secondary consequences on behavior, cognition and neurotransmitter networks. Peripherally higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines,  and anti-brain antibodies have been identified. Increased frequency of autoimmune diseases, allergies, and recurring infections have been demonstrated both in autistic patients and in their relatives. Genetic studies, also, have identified some important polymorphisms in chromosome loci related to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system. The persistence of immune-inflammatory deregulation, would lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, creating a self-sustaining cytotoxic loop. Chronic inflammation actives kynurenine pathway with increase in neurotoxic metabolites and excitotoxicity, causing long-term changes in glutamatergic function, trophic support and synaptic function. Furthermore, overactivation of kynurenines branch, induces depletion of melatonin and serotonin, with  ASD symptoms worsening.According to those findings, in subjects genetically predisposed an aberrant neurodevelopment derives by a complex interplay between inflammatory process, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, kynurenine pathway overactivation.To validate the previous hypothesis a new translational research approach is necessary.
  • 763
  • 10 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Autism Spectrum Disorder and Gut Microbiota
Autism is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders, characterized by early onset difficulties in social communication and restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests. It is characterized by familial aggregation, suggesting that genetic factors play a role in disease development, in addition to developmentally early environmental factors. An intimate relationship between ASD and several medical comorbidities, such as sleep problems and many psychiatry-related comorbidities, i.e., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), anxiety, mood problems, and disruptive behavior, was reported. Anyway, gastrointestinal comorbidities have a special role in their association with ASD. Indeed, since 1943, Kanner reported that ASD subjects showed severe feeding difficulties from their first days of life. Studies related to this association have crossed the entire path of evolution of knowledge on ASD. This association sustained a close relationship between ASD and gut microbiota.
  • 598
  • 27 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Media
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) or autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) describe a range of conditions classified as neurodevelopmental disorders in the DSM-5, used by the American Psychiatric Association. As with many neurodivergent people and conditions, the popular image of autistic people and autism itself is often based on inaccurate media representations. Additionally, media about autism may promote pseudoscience such as vaccine denial or facilitated communication. Since the 1970s, fictional portrayals of people with autism, Asperger syndrome, and other ASCs have become more frequent. Public perception of autism is often based on these fictional portrayals in novels, biographies, movies, and television series. These depictions of autism in media today are often made in a way that brings pity to the public and their concern of the topic, because their viewpoint is never actually shown, leaving the public without knowledge of autism and its diagnosis. Portrayals in the media of characters with atypical abilities (for example, the ability to multiply large numbers without a calculator) may be misinterpreted by viewers as accurate portrayals of all autistic people and of autism itself. James McGrath writes that the stereotype of autistic individuals as successful in math and science, along with disliking fiction, is widely overrepresented in literature.
  • 443
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Autistic Enterocolitis
Autistic enterocolitis is the name of a nonexistent medical condition proposed by discredited United Kingdom gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield when he suggested a link between a number of common clinical symptoms and signs which he contended were distinctive to autism. The existence of such an enterocolitis has been dismissed by experts as having "not been established". Wakefield's fraudulent and now-retracted report used inadequate controls and suppressed negative findings, and multiple attempts to replicate his results have been unsuccessful. Reviews in the medical literature have found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism or bowel disease. Most of Wakefield's coauthors later retracted the conclusions of the original paper proposing the hypothesis, and the General Medical Council found Wakefield guilty of manipulating patient data and misreporting results. His work has been exposed as falsified and described as an "elaborate fraud".
  • 1.3K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Autoantibodies as Biomarker in Systemic Sclerosis
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare connective tissue disorder characterized by immune dysregulation evoking the pathophysiological triad of inflammation, fibrosis and vasculopathy. In SSc, several alterations in the B-cell compartment have been described, leading to polyclonal B-cell hyperreactivity, hypergammaglobulinemia and autoantibody production. Autoreactive B cells and autoantibodies promote and maintain pathologic mechanisms. In addition, autoantibodies in SSc are important biomarkers for predicting clinical phenotype and disease progression. Autoreactive B cells and autoantibodies represent potentially promising targets for therapeutic approaches including B-cell-targeting therapies, as well as strategies for unselective and selective removal of autoantibodies.
  • 499
  • 14 Nov 2022
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